THE Tembari Children's Care (TCC) Inc is a day care facility at ATS Oro Settlement, 7-Mile, outside of Port Moresby, PNG. To date, it takes care of more than 200 former street children - orphans, abandoned and the unfortunate - by serving them meals twice a day, and providing them early education. Assistance - food and money - is sent by supporters who find merit in the services we provide to these children. At The Center, they are family. For all of these, we need support that is sustainable.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Tembari Children’s update

By Alfredo P HernandezA Friend of Tembari Children

WHILE I WAS away from this blogsite, a number of significant events transpired, all for the good of the Tembari Children.

Company logos of Paradise Business Consultants (left) and Associate Builders and Contractors (ABC).

1. Schoolchildren bus fare assistance. Two Filipino companies have come forward to shoulder the cost of the Tembari schoolchildren’s daily bus fares from the ATS Oro Settlement to their respective schools around Port Moresby. For several days now, the children have been missing school as they don’t have K2 for bus fare. Their guardians and bubus cannot just afford this daily expense. The school principal at Ward Strip school has warned Tembari management that she would drop the children from this year’s roster if they continue missing their classes. To help out, the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) Ltd and Paradise Business Consultants Ltd – both in Port Moresby – will equally share the K1,000 monthly expense of Tembari’s 30 schoolchildren, according to Zeny Ala, a top executive of ABC. Her company is engaged in contracting and construction. Headed by general Manager Jovy G Baltazar, Paradise Consultants deals with immigration and business documentations and related services. The funds was turned over to me on Friday, September 28, 2012.

2. Three companies support Tembari’s netball tournament. The Tembari Children’s Care (TCC) Inc, has just concluded a netball tournament marking PNG’s 37th independence anniversary. Held at Tembari’s playground at ATS Oro Settlement, the four-day event was participated in by 20 men and women’s teams from the settlement. The awarding of trophies was held on Sunday, September 23. Three companies – Pacific Towing PNG, Curtain Bros and Sena Investments -- helped to stage the event, which was witnessed by hundreds of residents from ATS Oro settlement. Pacific Towing under its general manager John Whitfield defrayed the cost of trophies awarded to five teams. Together with other sports gear, Pacific Towing spent a total of K1,800 plus. Curtain Bros sent a cheque for K1,000 while Sena Investments through its executive Joey Sena chipped in K400. The funds shouldered the cost of holding the four-day netball event.

The generous foodstuff donations.

The expatriate members of the Methodist Church in Port Moresby during the visit at Tembari Center.

The Tembari kids who are about to meet their benefactors from the Methodist Church.

3. Methodist Church of Papua New Guinea cheers up Tembari kids. The Methodist Church of Papua New Guinea composed of Malaysian, Taiwanese and Chinese expatriate members visited the center recently to cheer up the children with goodies, songs and games and prayers. The group brought with them supplies of rice and other foodstuff good for several weeks. The visitors were headed by Andrew W Tiong, general manager for operations at RH (PNG) Group. This group also came to the center last year to donate foodstuff. Methodist Church in Papua New Guinea is the only Chinese Christian
Church in Papua New Guinea. At present it has preaching centre at Vanimo and
Kimbe. Majority of the congregation are people from Malaysia, Taiwan, and
China. The interest of The Methodist Church in social welfare springs from the Bible
teaching.4. Movie treat for Tembari kids. Recently, 60 children age from 4 to 12 and 11 guardians were treated to an animated 3D movie at Paradise Cinema – a modern movie house at Vision City Mega Mall. The generous sponsor was RH Trading, whose HR & Administration manager Daneilla Tio coordinated the whole affair. The kids, who were treated with movie snacks, watched a 3D animated movie, their first experience in movie house cinema. After the show, the mall manager took the kids for a tour of Vision City’s shops and facilities. Three buses came to Tembari center to shuttle the kids to the mall and back to the settlement. RH Trading is a regular donor towards Tembari feeding program.

5. RH Foundation donates kiddie chairs. Recently, RH Foundation, the charity arms of RH (PNG) Group, delivered about 50 units of chairs for use by the Tembari preschool children. The new units replaced the worn out chairs, which RH donated two years ago. Mathew Werigi, the executive officer, said their foundation is always ready to provide for the needs of the Tembari children.

6. Regular supporters. The Tembari kids are regularly supported with foodstuff and modest funding by corporate groups such as RD Tuna Canners, Pacific Industries (cordial drinks), SVS supermart (flavored milk), Hugo Canning (tinned meat), and individuals that included top corporate executives (for supplies of rice and milk). The children are also getting funding support from the Malaysian Association of PNG (MAPNG), the Filipino Association of PNG (FAPNG), PNG Children’s Foundation and individuals, who on occasions, filled the gap in the foodstuff needs of the children.

7. Monthly water donation. Since two years ago, the Tembari center has never run dry, in terms of drinking water supply, while the entire settlement would experience such for most of the day. High Energy and Pure Water Company have seen to it that the children have enough water to use and drink every day. High Energy, a fishing company based in POM headed by general manager Thomas Kuo, delivers 5,000 liters of bulk water monthly for drinking and other use. On the other hand, Helen McIndoe, an executive at Pure Water, delivers 20 units of 19 liter-containers of purified water, one of her company products distributed in PNG. The three 5,000 liter water tanks that Tembari use these days have been donated by POM Rotary (two units) and RH Foundation.

8. Preschool classroom project. The construction of a four-classroom building at the Tembari center has been stalled as the project sponsor – Australian High Commission in POM – has to wait for Tembari management do produce the title to the property that is occupied by the center. Right now, a volunteer is working double time to secure the required land title to a 3,500sqm property from the Lands Department. Land Secretary John Ofoi has committed to help Tembari to get the title. At the moment, the perimeter fencing of the property is about to start, courtesy of one corporate sponsor. Likewise, the construction of a septic tank for the center’s toilet facility has begun, a project being shouldered by a corporate sponsor. The classroom project will cost K100,000. The paving and grading of the hillside portion of the property was carried out sometime ago and the land reclaimed would be used to accommodate another building for use as facility.

Despite all these good news, the Tembari Children’s needs, like for instance, food, grow every time. Improving their daily nutrition is a priority concern of Tembari management.

If you think you have the opportunity to help our children – in whatever way or form – especially in our daily feeding activities, please don’t hesitate to contact me through this email: ahernandez@thenational.com.pg and alfredophernandez@y7mail.com

THE BLOGGER

ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ, A Friend of Tembari Children. Blogger APH came to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in 1993 to join The National newspaper as one of its pioneering journalists. Working as Executive Sub Editor, he has remained with the daily, now the country’s No. 1 newspaper, up to these days. He has been a journalist since his university days in Manila back in the late 60s. APH’s involvement with the Tembari children began in January 2010 after he discovered them at a Christmas party for the city’s 500 unfortunate children held at the Botanical Garden in Port Moresby. That day, he was chasing a story for The National, which happened to be that of the unfortunate children in the city. His self-appointed job for Tembari children composed of orphaned, abandoned, neglected and unfortunate children is to look for people and groups who could provide them food, money, health services and facilities necessary to create positive changes in their lives. This job is difficult, but what the heck …!

(Our sponsored Saturday lunch for the 200 Tembari kids costs only K250.00 per sponsor (we usually have two), which covers a special meat (fish or chicken) dish, veggies, steamed rice and cordial drink. The Saturday lunch needs at least two sponsors. Some had given more, allowing us to give the kids a generous heap of the day’s lunch. A rare bonus to the sponsors, along with the bricks they earn each time, is that I personally cook the dish, giving it a personal touch. And as they earn a brick, each of our benefactors also earn a passage into the heart of the Tembari kids, which is also a prepaid ticket to Heaven.)